CHENNAI: The city police arrested two Jharkhand men on Tuesday night for hoarding 33,010 smuggled foreign cigarette packets stored in a godown in Sowcarpet. The load van used to transport the contraband and cigarettes were seized.

The Elephant Gate police had received a tip-off about suspicious activity in a godown of a parcel office on Audiappa Naicken Street, and a team descended to the godown. The staff at the godown gave evasive replies to the authorities, and the premises were swept, after which the police found stocks of banned foreign cigarettes.

The arrested persons were Jayender Singh (43) and Sanjay Singh (41) of Jharkhand. The police seized 33,010 foreign cigarette packets. The accused were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody on Wednesday. Further investigation is under way to determine the involvement of others.